Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested five suspects, including an ex-convict and a foreigner, for allegedly belonging to a car-snatching syndicate that operates within and outside the state.

They also arrested four suspects for their alleged involvement in kidnapping and other criminal activities.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this while parading the suspects before journalists in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Tuesday.

She said members of the car-snatching syndicate were nabbed following an earlier arrest of a member who led the operatives of the C4i Intelligence unit to the Northern part of the country for the operation.

Iringe-Koko said the stock-in-trade of the syndicate was stealing cars and ferrying them outside the state to sell to buyers who were part of the gang.

She said, “Following on an earlier arrest of a member of an armed robbery/car-snatching syndicate, on Monday, May 8, 2023, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command proceeded on investigation activities to Abuja, Nasarawa and Gombe States, where they nabbed five suspects strongly believed to be responsible for theft of cars in the state, and the sale of those stolen vehicles.

“They include one Shehu Shagari, 33, from Kaduna South, Kaduna State who is a major receiver of stolen vehicles from one Hamisu Babangida who is based in Port Harcourt, and a direct receiver from one Tamuno Kobiye aka Okorobo, a suspected armed robber who is a native of Okrika and who has been convicted and imprisoned severally on similar offences.

“Others are one Ibrahim Abubakar, 37, of Kala Local Government Area in Borno State who confessed that he bought one Prado Jeep from Shehu Shagari at the rate of N5m and re-sold the same to one Alhaji Abdullahi, a Cameroonian.

“The same operation led to the arrest of one Nuhu Ahmed, 30, and Abdullahi, 30, both from Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State.”

On the four kidnap suspects that were arrested, the police spokesman added that a kidnap victim and his daughter were rescued in the course of the operation.

Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, said the suspects were arrested while operatives were investigating a kidnap case reported in January.

She said one of the suspects identified as Abdullahi Ibrahim was nabbed in Kano State, leading to other arrests.

“Consequent upon Ibrahim’s arrest, police operatives successfully trailed and arrested his co-conspirators, one Tamunor Okari, 23, from Okrika in Rivers State; Vincent Kobani, 20, from Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State; and one Monima George, 22, from Buguma in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State,” she said.